Carry On Wayward Sons
by awesomesauce101
Summary: All things have an end, but sometimes they're not always happy ones.
1. Carry On My Wayward Son

**A/N: I was listening to the lullaby version of Carry On My Wayward Son on Youtube and someone made a comment about how Supernatural would end and it made me really, really sad. This is not that, but my own take on some of the ways the show might end, and how I want it to end.**

**Just to make a few things clear. There is major character death and these are not continuous chapters, rather, they're three oneshots put into one story. As I said above, these are ways that Supernatural might end, realistically. I'd love for the boys to have something go right for once and live happily ever after, but we all know that that's not probable. So while these may not be the happy endings I want, they're ones that I might be able to settle for, given the context of the show. **

"_Sam!"_

Dean clutches at his brother's unmoving body, hoping that if he shouts loud enough, stares long enough, that Sam will come back to him. Tears blur his vision but he doesn't really give a crap when his brother is dying in his arms. Abaddon smiles cruelly at them, hands smeared with Sam's blood. If Dean weren't currently focused on keeping Sam's insides where they belong, he'd be burying the first blade in her chest.

He glances over at Castiel, his last hope for healing Sam, sprawled out on the floor in a broken heap, wing marks scorched into the ground beneath him. He's still yet to come to terms with the fact that Cas is dead and there's no bringing him back this time. Sam takes a shuddering breath in his arms and he forgets all about the angel for a moment.

"Dean?" Sam croaks, speech slurred.

"Yeah, it's me. You big idiot, you just had to go and be the hero, didn't you?" Dean says, sad smile gracing his face.

"Had to protect you," Sam replies, so quietly Dean almost doesn't hear him. But he does and damn it, he's the one that's supposed to protect people. He's supposed to keep his brother safe, no matter what and he's screwed that up spectacularly, on more than one occasion.

"_I'm_ supposed to protect _you_. That's what big brothers are for, bitch," he jokes, trying to hide the way his voice wavers.

"Jerk," Sam says with a pained laugh. He coughs and more blood wells up, leaking out of his mouth and the wounds Dean's keeping covered with his hands.

"Sam? Stay with me, okay? You're going to be just fine. I'm gonna patch you up and we'll take out Abaddon and we'll get Cas back somehow, okay? But you have to stay with me."

"Dean, stop," Sam whispers. "I'm dying and-,"

"Shut up," Dean cuts him off, pressing harder, trying to stop the bleeding.

"_Dean_," Sam snaps. "Don't be stupid. I'm dying and you have to promise me..."

He trails off, eyes going distant for a moment and Dean shouts his name again. Sam blinks and takes another shallow breath.

"Promise you'll be okay. No deals, no angels possessing me. I'm not scared of dying," he continues.

"Sam, please," Dean says.

"It's okay. It'll be fine," Sam assures him, almost soothingly, like he's not the one dying in his brother's arms. "Promise me you'll stop after this. You kill Abaddon and you walk away, got it?"

"I can't-"

"You can. Please, Dean. Just...do this last thing for me. Promise, okay?"

Dean nods wordlessly, all the things he wants to say caught in his throat. Sam smiles up at him one last time and closes his eyes. His chest rises and falls once and is still. Dean knows that he's gone, but he can't make himself believe it. He blinks away the tears and still tries to stop the blood that is no longer flowing.

The shrill laugh of the self-proclaimed queen of Hell breaks the heavy silence. Abaddon stalks over from the corner she'd been watching the whole thing from. There's all these emotions running rampant inside him; unbelievable sadness and an overwhelming feeling of loss, but the one thing that slowly takes over is an uncontrollable rage. As Abaddon smirks at him, he finds himself reaching for the first blade that Cas had dropped when she had stabbed him with his own sword.

The thing about her is that she's completely sure of everything she does. Self confidence rolls off her in waves and she doesn't ever entertain the notion that someone, especially a weak human, could even put a scratch her. She knows that the first blade can kill her, but she'll smoke out before Dean even has a chance to get near her.

"Oh Dean, I'm so sorry for your loss," she says sarcastically.

He doesn't give her the satisfaction of responding. His grip on the first blade tightens and he storms closer to her, ready to end this once and for all. She holds up a teasing finger, smiling at him.

"You think I'm going to make it that easy for you, darling?" she says.

She holds her hand out and Dean waits, bracing himself for the feeling of getting tossed into the wall. But it never comes. The only thing he feels is the corruption of the blade in his hand spreading through his being. For the first time since he's met her, Abaddon looks scared. She keeps her hand outstretched towards him, backing away quickly.

"Just stay away from me!" she shrieks, angry and fearful all at once.

When Dean gets her cornered, she attempts to smoke out. And when nothing happens, Dean only smirks at her.

"Did you think we wouldn't come here prepared?" he asks.

She looks up at the hastily drawn devil's trap on the ceiling and it's the last thing she sees before he runs her through. Light erupts from her vessel, much like when an angel dies and Dean is too slow to close his eyes before he even realizes what's happening. The light fades a moment later and he expects there to be pain and an empty spot where his eyes used to be, but nothing is changed. He can still see the former queen of Hell slumped on the floor with the first blade sticking out of her chest. He turns and wishes that he wasn't suddenly, somehow, immune to whatever just occured, because he can still see the bodies of his brother and friend lying lifeless on the floor.

"Sam? Cas?" he says quietly, holding the impossible hope that maybe this is all a trick.

He walks over to them on shaky legs and when the reality of the situation hits him, he crumples to the ground. Sobs wrack his body and he doesn't care because there's no one there to hear his cries or to see how he holds Sam's dead body in his arms begging him to be alive.


	2. There'll Be Peace When You Are Done

"Dean! Wake up! Come on, man, don't you dare die on me now!"

Dean blinks and his vision swims before him. He feels lightheaded and dizzy like he's been hanging upside down for too long and all the blood's gone to his head. He blinks a few more times, finally registering Sam's voice and the warmth of arms around him. Sam's face finally takes form before his eyes and he smiles at him.

"Don't worry, Sammy. It's only a flesh wound," he says.

Sam laughs, a bit hysterically he notes, and blinks away tears forming in his eyes.

"Of course you'd say that with a sword sticking out of you," he chokes out.

So is that it, then? He glances down and sees that Sam is indeed telling the truth. Someone's knife, he thinks it's his own, is embedded in his chest, close to his heart. He can tell by the way it's starting to hurt to even breathe that it probably pierced his lung.

Bits and pieces of what happened come back to him. He remembers Abaddon and her minions ambushing them. He remembers fighting and then an excruciating pain. Then, nothing. He figures he must have passed out. Had they killed her? He can't remember.

"Cas, do something!" Sam orders.

Cas' face appears above him, a pained look on his face as well. If Dean didn't know better, he'd think Cas was crying too.

"I'm sorry Sam. But I can't do anything."

"Why not?!"

"This Grace, it's stolen and it's leeching my powers because of it. My healing ability was the first to leave me," he explains.

"You mean he's going to die and you can't heal him?" Sam snaps angrily.

"I'm sorry-,"

"Sorry's not good enough!"

"Sam...," Dean grumbles.

His brother scowls at Cas before turning his attention back to Dean.

"Shh, don't speak, Dean," he says.

"Not Cas' fault," Dean insists.

"I know. I know, but I can't lose you. You're my brother and I need you."

"It'll be okay, Sam. Promise," Dean says, vision beginning to blur again. He keeps very still, taking tiny, shallow breaths. Sam shouts his name and he blinks, just to show he's still alive.

Someone takes his hand. Cas, he thinks, because Sam's are occupied at the moment. He can just barely make out their words.

"I can't heal him, but I can make it easier for him."

"Cas, he's going to be fine-"

"Sam, we have to be realistic. He doesn't have much longer," Cas says and maybe it's the whole dying thing warping the sounds around him, but he swears he hears the angel's voice break.

"What are you going to do?"

"I can make things as painless as possible for him. I may not be able to heal his wounds, but he won't feel them anymore either,"

A blurred version of Sam nods and then warmth radiates from where Cas is clutching at his hand. The pain drifts away, leaving him feeling a lot better than before. He blinks a few times to clear his vision and sees Sam staring down at him. Tears shine in his eyes and a glance to his left tells him that Cas is crying too. He rolls his eyes at the both of them.

"Seriously, guys? No chick flick moments," he mutters.

That gets a weak laugh out of Sam and he holds Dean a little tighter. He lifts his hand and brushes away the tears dripping down Sam's face. He's never liked seeing his little brother cry, not when they were young, and especially not now.

"It's okay," he assures him.

He turns to look at Cas. The angel looks guilt stricken, like Dean dying is his fault, and the hunter won't have him believing that if he can help it.

"Cas, it's not your fault," he tells him.

"It is. My powers are nearly gone and I can't fix you anymore," he says, voice rougher than usual. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't, Cas. It's fine. Hey, maybe you can visit me when you get your wings back."

"What if I don't get them back? What if I never see you again?" Cas says in a small voice.

Dean squeezes his hand reassuringly.

"Sure you will Cas. I know you will," he says.

He blinks tiredly and figures he doesn't have much longer. He looks up at Sam and smiles.

"Take care of Baby, got it? Don't douche her up like last time," he says.

"I won't," Sam replies, refraining from rolling his eyes.

"It'll be okay, Sam. I'll see you sooner or later anyway. Just make sure it's later," Dean says.

"Okay," Sam chokes out.

Dean turns to Cas, one last time. "Take care of him," he says.

Cas nods. "I promise," he says, voice equally as hoarse as his brother's.

He's relieved to hear that. If Sam and Cas stick together, they'll be just fine without him. They can go back to doing something semi-normal. Maybe Cas will become a hunter, a full time one like Sam. Either way, he killed Abaddon, he remembers, and made sure he protected Sam. His purpose here is done anyway.

"Dad would be proud of you, you know," Sam whispers.

"I dunno about that. I don't think he'd be happy to find out I died," Dean replies.

"No, you're wrong," Sam shakes his head. "You've done so much, sacrificed so much for us. Believe me, Dad would be proud,"

"If you say so," Dean says with a slight shrug. He looks up at Sam, knowing that his brother's face is the last thing he wants to see before he goes. He takes one last breath and says, "I'll tell everyone you said hi, Sam," before closing his eyes and letting himself drift away.

He wakes up at home. Not at his house in Lawrence though. He's at Bobby's house that had been burned down. The old ex-hunter strolls into the room and offers him a beer, but not before slapping him ont the back of the head and calling him an idjit for getting himself done in. Bobby's been here long enough to be able to move around to other people's heavens, like Ash had done and decided to drop in once he'd heard what happened through the heavenly grapevine. The two sit together and Dean catches Bobby up on all the things that he's missed.

It's days, weeks, maybe even years before Dean can traverse the heavens with all the ease of an angel. Heaven works on a different time zone than the Earth and it doesn't feel like it's been that long. He visits Ellen and Jo and Ash, all hanging out together at the Roadhouse. He sees Pamela there too sometimes and when he finally summons up the courage, he finds Kevin. He apologizes to him within an inch of his not-life, but the former prophet has long since forgiven him.

The last people he goes to meet are Mom and Dad. He expects a scolding or a disappointed look from his father, but the only thing present their is happiness and a bit of sadness at seeing his son here already. But the two are happier than they ever were alive and they welcome Dean with open arms. His dad engulfs him in a tight hug and he finds out that Sam was right.

"I'm so proud of you, son," he says.

Dean smiles and blinks away the tears forming in his eyes. Instead, he hugs John tighter.

"Thanks Dad."


	3. Lay Your Weary Head to Rest

**I feel like if Supernatural does end, it can only end in death, sadly. I mean, unless something totally impossible happens like God actually lending a hand. But I also really want it to have a happy ending. So here this is, a somewhat happy-sad medium.**

* * *

Their broken bodies lie side by side, together till the end. They're still fighting, hanging on by a thread. It had been a hell of a fight before. Angelic factions were hard enough to deal with. Throw demons into the mix and they've got another apocalypse on their hands. But somehow, they'd found a way. They always do.

But saving the world comes at a cost and the injuries they'd suffered during the fight can't be healed. Not now, when they finally succeeded in tossing the angels back into the great beyond and shutting the pearly gates. So here they are, lying in the field where they'd taken a last stand and hadn't expected to come out alive. And in a way, they were right.

They pass onto the next world together, their souls floating up and out of their bodies and for the moment, they're spirits, clinging to the world they fought so hard to protect. Letting go is hard, especially when they still have so much to do. There are still demons running amok, still monsters to kill and people to save. But they know better than anyone else how dangerous they can become now.

They don't know where they're going to end up. Heaven and Hell are equally viable choices. But all of their doubt disappears when Castiel appears to them. The big man upstairs who up to this point, they'd thought absent, has restored Castiel's angelic status and he strides towards them, white wings outstretched behind him.

He's the last angel to leave and the older of the two makes a joke about ET. Castiel only rolls his eyes, still so human in some ways now. There's sadness in his blue eyes, because even though he's returning home and escorting the other two there, the latter is something he never wanted. They each take one of the angel's outstretched hands and then they're ascending, faster and faster until the clouds and sky swallows them up.

When they reach the other side, things are no different than they appeared on Earth. After all, they've been here before and they vaguely know how Heaven works. And rather than separating, they stick together, each the other's personal heaven. Without the weight of the world resting solely on their shoulders, they're family again. Of course, it's not as though they ever stopped.

Eventually, they meet other people, travel to other heavens. They see Bobby again. They drink beer with Ash, Ellen, and Jo at the Roadhouse. They visit Kevin and make amends. And finally, after a long, long time, they go home.

Mary and John greet their sons with sad smiles. Their house is still the same as it was before they'd been pulled into the hunting life. Castiel visits them there sometimes, keeping them up to date with the world. Things have calmed down significantly now that the angels have left and any problems caused by demons or monsters are being taken care of by other hunters. And for the first time in years, they can finally rest.


End file.
